


Waitin' On A Sunny Day

by inlovewithnight



Category: Sports Night
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-02-10
Updated: 2010-02-10
Packaged: 2017-10-07 04:04:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/61252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inlovewithnight/pseuds/inlovewithnight





	Waitin' On A Sunny Day

They all see each other again at Dana's wedding, and that's a wild thought that Dan isn't quite ready to deal with, even though he's had the invitation on his refrigerator for two and a half months. Dana getting married. Dana soon to be Whitaker no longer--unless she will; he isn't as sure about her feelings on that as he once would have been. People change. He tells Natalie that, as they hover awkwardly in the back corner of the pre-wedding cocktail party that formed entirely spontaneously at the nearest bar.

"People change." He gestures with his vodka tonic. "I, for example, have changed."

"Yes." She nods, looking past him into the crowd. "You drink vodka now, for one thing."

"I always drank vodka, Natalie."

"No, you didn't, Dan." Her eyes dissect the crowd easily, like face-mounted razors, and he belatedly remembers that he _shouldn't_ drink vodka, regardless of how long he has or has not been doing so.

"What are you looking for, Nat?"

"Casey's not here."

Dan glances around the room as well, knowing that close inspection is unnecessary: were he present, Casey McCall would loom like a tree. "He's not here at the bar, no, but he'll be at the wedding."

"You're sure about that?"

"Dana said he RSVPd. If Casey broke a committment, he'd shrivel up and die." He leans against the wall, closing his eyes and letting his head thump back twice. "I can't believe Dana's getting married."

"I can."

"What's the guy's name again? Teddy? Thomas?"

"It's David."

"Oh." He opens one eye and peers at her; she's smiling at him, a soft and fond smile that he remembers well, even if it wasn't often aimed at him. "What?"

"Nothing. You're cute." She takes a sip of her drink and leans against the wall beside him. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too, Nat." They survey the crowd together in silence for a moment. "Jeremy's here."

"I saw." Her glass is empty now, and she twirls the stem between her fingers.

"Are you going to go talk to him?"

"Maybe later." She meets his smirk with a raised eyebrow. "Don't push, Dan."

"People change, Natalie. I'm telling you. It's true."

"I hear you, Dan, I'm just not sure I've changed enough to not throw a drink in his face."

"Waste of a good drink." He nods at the glass in her hand. "Speaking of which, you want another?"

"No. And neither do you. Not until _after_ the wedding." She elbows him lightly in the ribs. "Dana won't hesitate to ream you out, just like old times."

"Old times." He smiles up at the ceiling. "Those were the days."

"Don't go weepy on me, Danny."

"You said you missed me."

"I do." She's suddenly serious, looking up at him. "It's not the same without you, Dan."

He blinks. "Well, it's been five years and we're all scattered to the winds, Natalie, nothing's the same."

"I know." She frowns a little and slumps back against the wall. "But I miss you. The...Dannishness of you."

"I'm nothing special, Natalie."

"Of course you are."

"Oh yeah?" He sets his own empty glass aside on a nearby table and folds his arms, looking down at her in challenge. "In what way?"

She rolls her eyes and starts to smile. "Well, you're Dan."

"I am Dan." He nods slowly. "I seem to have a distinct inability to stop being Dan."

She smiles and adjusts his collar, centering the tie. "You're Danny."

Their eyes meet and there's a long and strange moment, electric and live in a way that once would have thrilled and terrified him in equal measure, would've sent him running to Casey to analyze it into shreds. But he _has_ changed some, like he said, and so he just smiles back at her, enjoys the shiver and the charge, and lets it go where it will.

Of course, like _she_ said, he's still Dan, and so he makes a joke as her hand settles lightly on his chest. "I can't believe our Dana is marrying a Mathlete."

She rolls her eyes and thumps the heel of her hand against his ribs. "He's a mathematician, Danny, and he's very respected in his field."

"Among the other Mathletes." He grins at her. "I could kick his butt at Scrabble."

"I'm sure you could." Her hand settles again, over his heart, and she glances up at him. "He makes Dana very happy."

"He's not Casey."

"No. But he's not Gordon, either."

Dan looks across the room toward the door, where the parts of the crowd who look dressed for a wedding are starting to gather. "I bet she's a very beautiful bride."

She threads her arm through his and nudges her head against his shoulder. "Let's go see."


End file.
